#051 A.T. Section Hike Four: Davenport Gap TN to Hot Springs NC / ATMM 239.1 to ATMM 274.9
I run up the trail wildly beating on my legs with my hiking poles while pushing my shoes off my feet. A few of these mini-beasts have wedged themselves between my back and my pack. Off flies my pack..
Mamma Mosey and I make a last minute decision to hike a short section in the cool of autumn. We hurriedly put together a plan to hike from Davenport Gap TN to Hot Spring NC.
I leave home early one bright October Morning to drive to Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs NC to meet Mosey, One Gear, and Splash. When our shuttle van arrives we move our gear to it and climb in.
Our driver and I drop the three of them off on the gravel road by the rive near where the A.T. crosses beneath Hwy 40. He drives me around to the south side of the mountain to Davenport Gap, where I ended my Smokey Mountain Section Hike in 2017 with Lody and Big Spoon. This little jaunt adds three extra miles to my day, but it keeps my section hike pure.
After finishing the three-mile section I step back on the road where we dropped my friends off about an hour ago. As the A.T. crosses a bridge over The Pigeon River, a man in a truck stops to give me some trail snacks. I don’t really need them, but a true backpacker never turns down free food. Besides, I don’t think he is going to take “no thank you” for an answer anyway. I take the food with a smile and a “thank you” then shove everything into my backpack. I’ll eventually eat everything he gives me except for the small can potted meat. What the hell is potted meat?